McDonald's Plays Classical Music To Calm Rowdy Customers

Can music soothe the unruly restaurant customer? One McDonald's in Scotland is hoping that it can, because in a last-ditch attempt to stop customers from getting into fights and causing a ruckus, it has started playing classical music in the restaurant in the hopes that the smooth grooves will help chill people out.

According to The Mirror, a McDonald's branch in Glasgow is known for being the site of many altercations between customers. The police have reportedly been called to the restaurant 200 times in the past 14 months. It is also the busiest McDonald's unit in Scotland. Things got so bad that the police actually complained that the restaurant was keeping them too busy, and the restaurant owners were ordered to hire security staff on Fridays and Saturdays. And now the restaurant is attempting to calm its customers down by piping in classical music by Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and others.

Some restaurants have reportedly found that playing classical music encourages a calmer atmosphere in and around the restaurant.

"Based on the advice of our security team, classical music is used by some restaurants as it encourages calm behaviour," McDonald's representatives said. "Typically, classical music is used from early evening onwards."

Some of the customers seem to like it, too.

"We heard classical music being played the other night and it was actually quite pleasant," one regular said. "It's better than the kind of rave music we've heard before so I think they may be on to something."